New Meaning at Punchbowl

Lauri and I have always loved going up to Punchbowl to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. It is such a beautiful place and is so peaceful, and just a great place to spend a little quiet time together.

I recently found out from my mother that my great-uncle Clint is buried there. He was my grandfather's twin brother and was serving on Wake Island as a forerunner to the SeaBees when the Japanese attacked Wake Island and overran it. He was killed there.

Here is an excerpt from "Building the Navy's Bases in World War II: History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps - 1940-1946," Volume I:

"Wake was placed under the jurisdiction of the Navy Department in 1934, and in 1935 permission was granted Pan American Airways to establish a way-station airport on Peale Island. This work was completed prior to the start of naval construction.

"The first of the contractor's personnel, 80 men, arrived on January 9, 1941, accompanied by large amounts of construction materials and equipment, which included an 80-ton crane on caterpillar treads, two heavy bulldozers, and a large tractor.

"The channel between Wilkes and Wake islands was first chosen for development, but surveys indicated that this was an excavating rather than a dredging job, so the preliminary work was done with pneumatic-hammers, bulldozers, and a crane. Sufficient width and depth was obtained by this method to permit entrance into the lagoon of a 1000-ton barge loaded with construction materials.

"Work was also started on two of the three airstrips planned and access roads were built. Simultaneously, erection of a camp and headquarters for civilian workers was begun.

"Considerable construction had been accomplished, such as the installation of evaporators and refrigerators and general camp improvements, when the hydraulic dredge "Columbia" was brought in. However, due to its many breakdowns, only one channel, necessitated by construction requirements, was ever developed.

"Tanks were installed for the storage of 150,000 barrels of gasoline, 20,000 barrels of fuel oil, and 6,000 barrels of diesel oil.

"Living facilities for the Marines were about 50 per cent complete in December, but very little work had been done on defense installations and fortifications.

"On December 8, Japanese planes struck, and during the 16 days before the island's surrender, it was subjected to 14 bombing attacks. Construction work came to an abrupt end, and all resources were turned to defense. During the siege, construction personnel maintained power, water, and communication systems and worked on dugouts. Nearly all construction material was destroyed by bombing and resultant fires.

"Heroic but futile delaying action was carried on by the garrison of the island. Fourteen civilians lost their lives, and 1,132 were interned by the enemy. [The Marine Corps Historical Monograph The Defense of Wake, gives 70 contractors KIA in the battle, plus 98 more who were retained on Wake as a labor force and murdered by the Japanese in October 1943. -- HyperWar]

"Our forces repossessed Wake in August 1945, after the completion of surrender negotiations. No resistance was encountered."

It is interesting to note that the Japanese attacked Wake Island almost simultaneously with Pearl Harbor. The radioman on Wake Island received the dispatch from Hickam regarding the attack on Pearl Harbor just as the first bombs began falling on Wake Island.

Clint's official date of death is listed as 23 December 1941, the day the US forces surrendered.

This is the printout from the Visitors Center at Punchbowl showing the location of his grave.

It is a mass grave.




















This was a pretty sobering experience for me. Obviously, I never knew Clint, since he died 13 years before I was born, but I know his twin brother mourned his death for more than 33 years and spoke of having had a good visit with Clint (at the cemetery) the morning of the day he died on Memorial Day 1977.